One person is dead and two were injured after a fire escape collapsed down the side of a century-old building during a Saturday night party.

The fourth-floor fire escape collapsed from a historic building in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighbourhood while occupied by multiple people. A 22-year-old man is dead and two women, 25 and 26, are hospitalized with multiple injuries.

All three victims were rushed to local hospitals. They have not yet been identified, but the male died from severe head and neck injuries a few hours after the fall, according to KYW.

Firefighters examine the wreckage of the collapsed fire escape that killed a young man and injured two women

His last precious breaths: This man was wheeled away only to die later at a local hospital, his name has not been released

The three revellers had gone out on the fire escape just before midnight to smoke cigarettes, investigators said. It became loose and plummeted 35 feet to the ground below.

‘Horrible crash,’ Bernell Buckley, who lives next to the building, told NBC Philadelphia ‘It sounded like two automobiles. But it was right outside of my window. I was 10 feet away from it.’

Another neighbour told the station it sounded like an ‘incredible explosion’ followed by screaming – she immediately called 911.

One of the injured: One of two women injured in the collapse is taken to an ambulance, she broke multiple bones in her back but is expected to survive

Historic: The 106-year-old building where the incident occurred is on the National Register of Historic Places

Seeking the cause: Firefighters gather in an alley Sunday at the building when the collapse occurred

From below: Firefighters look up to the fourth-floor apartment from where the collapse happened

The trio was soon taken to a local hospital, the male died at 5:43 a.m.

The two women suffered broken bones in their backs and are in stable condition, NBC reported.